In travel and mobile productions and operations, it is often necessary to move large or heavy packages and items. A variety of hand trucks, luggage carts, trolleys, valets, and other wheeled carriers have been developed to assist people in handling large and heavy items. In all such carts, greater weight and size allows the cart to more easily carry more and heavier items. At the same time lighter, smaller carts are easier to pack, store, and transport when not in use.
To allow a cart to be useful, compact and portable, a variety of different folding and collapsible hand trucks, light wagons, and other types of carts have been developed. By folding or collapsing the cart, it can be packed for easier transport when not in use. Folding and collapsible designs, however, take some time to fold and unfold and offer less strength than carts that are rigid. There are, for example, a variety of small carts for carrying airplane luggage that can be folded up to fit beside the luggage or stored in an airplane's overhead storage compartment but these folding carts are all small and weak.
While a hand truck or dolly can be folded fairly flat by simply folding up its base, other types of carts are more complex. A particularly difficult cart to fold is known as a valet, valet cart, valet truck, bell man's cart, hotel luggage cart, or by similar names. Such a cart features high rods or hooks to hang clothes hangers and garment bags. The clothes hanger is designed to be high enough to allow clothing to be fully suspended off the ground and the bottom of the cart. The clothes hanger also requires enough supporting structure to carry the clothes. The combination of height and strength makes such a cart difficult to fold or collapse.